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Cervus is a genus of deer that primarily are native to Eurasia, although one species occurs in northern Africa and another in North America. In addition to the species presently placed in this genus, it has included a whole range of other species now commonly placed in other genera. Additionally, the species-level taxonomy is in a state of flux. Until the 1970s, Cervus also included the members of the genera Axis, Dama, and Elaphurus, and until the late 1980s, it included members of Rucervus and Rusa. In the third edition of Mammal Species of the World from 2005, only the red deer (C. elaphus) and sika deer (C. nippon) were recognized as species in the genus Cervus. Genetic and morphological evidence suggest more species should be recognized. For example, the species Cervus canadensis (elk/wapiti) is considered a separate species. Within the red deer species group, some sources have recommended the Central Asian red deer (Cervus hanglu) should be treated as a species. If the Central Asian red deer (from the Caspian Sea to western China) is recognized as a species, it includes the Yarkand deer and Bactrian deer (the two may be synonymous), but it could possibly also include the Kashmir stag, which has not been sampled in recent studies. If it is included in the Central Asian red deer, the scientific name of that species is C. hanglu. If it is not included, the scientific name of that species is C. yarkandensis, and the Kashmir stag (C. hanglu) may represent a separate monotypic species. The Central Asian red deer was considered its own species (including the Yarkand deer, Kashmir stag and Bactrian deer as subspecies) by the IUCN in 2017, and by the American Society of Mammalogists in 2021. Others members of the red deer group, which may represent separate species, are C. corsicanus, C. wallichi and C. xanthopygus. If so, C. corsicanus includes the subspecies C. c. barbarus (perhaps a synonym of corsicanus), and is restricted to Maghreb in North Africa, Corsica and Sardinia. C. wallichi would probably include the subspecies C.

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Related concepts (5)

Elk

The elk (: elk or elks; Cervus canadensis), or wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The word "elk" originally referred to the European variety of the moose, Alces alces, but was transferred to Cervus canadensis by North American colonists. The name "wapiti", derived from a Shawnee and Cree word meaning "white rump", is also used for C. canadensis.

Irish elk

The Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus), also called the giant deer or Irish deer, is an extinct species of deer in the genus Megaloceros and is one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its range extended across Eurasia during the Pleistocene, from Ireland to Lake Baikal in Siberia. The most recent remains of the species have been radiocarbon dated to about 7,700 years ago in western Russia. The Irish elk is known from abundant skeletal remains which have been found in bogs in Ireland.

Sika deer

The sika deer (Cervus nippon), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to the Russian Far East in the north, it is now uncommon except in Japan, where the species is overabundant. Its name comes from 鹿, the Japanese word for "deer". In Japan, the species is known as the "Japan deer". In Chinese, it is known as .